Switch for automobile horns



Patented Dec. 28, A1926.

UNITED STATE'S' P'ATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAI/I P. BUTT, OF' NORFOLK, VIRGINIA, ASSIGNOB ONE-HALE T EDWARD J.BRICKHOUSE, OF NOR'FOLK, VIRGINIA.

SWITCH FOR AUTOMOBILE HORNS.

Application filed December 17, 1924.

This invention relates to an improved switch which will perniit the hornof an automobile to be sounded in different degrees of intensit-y, andhas for its object to provide a sw'tch of simple and etiicientconstruction for the purpose indicated. The improvement embodies a baseor supporting member preferably of a type whichwill permit the same tobe placed in the, Center of the steering wheel in the steering wheelcolumn, said base having pivotally and tiltably mounted thereon a Capwhich may be tilted toward the basewhen it is desired to establishelectrical connection with. the horn circuit. The various features ofnovelty and invention will appear from the detailed description taken inconnection with the companying drawings forming part of thisspecification.

Refer 1ing to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a Sectional view taken through the preferred form of switch,the same being shown mounted at the upper part of the steering column.

Fig. 2 is a section on an enlarged scale through the switch` Fig. 3 is aview similar to Fig. 2, showing the cap as tilted to establish contactwith one branch over one Circuit.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the top of the base member showing` two arcuatecontact strips forming part of the switch.

Fig. 5 is a bottom plan view of the cap member.

Fig. 0 is a modified form of the switch.

Fig. 7 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the horn Circuit.

Numeral 1 indicates the upper porton of the steering column, 2 thespoles of the stecring wheel., and 3 the hub of the same within wwhichthe steering column is received and securcd` The base of the switchmemboi' ;is shown as coi'nprising a metallic shell 11: having a topmember 5 made of suitable insulating material. lithin the shell 4 is aconductoi' in the form of a U-shaped bar.I one leg of which is threadedto receive a bindingscifew '7 for securing the terminal of ,'z, batterywire 8. The other leg of 'the bar 6 is disposed below the top member oand has a beveled opening therein through which is passed the body 9 ofa beveled screw, the head 10 of the screw being adapted to rock in itsin the leg of the bar 6 as will be readily understood. A Cap 11 is fixedon Serial No. 756,575v

the end of the screw 9, said cap having a plate 12 on its bottom facewith which said screw engages; As shown, the plate is preferziblyprovided with a socket 13 which extends into the body of the cap, thescrew being entered into the socket. It will now be seen that the wire 8is in direct electrical connection with the plate 12 on the cap 11. Inorder to aiford a more positive electrical connection between the plate12 and the bar 6 to which the wire 8 is attached, the top member 5 has acentral cutout to permit a helical spring 11' to be seated on theadjacent lef` of the said bar, the other end of the spring makingcontact with the plate v12. The primary purpose of'the spring is to holdthe ca away from thecontact members on the base, as Will presentlyappear. As already innicated, the spring also serves as a means forestablishing a positive electrical connection between the plate and thebar 6. This arrangement of the spring between the cap and the base is avaluable feature, inasmuch as it insures a direct electrical connectionbetween the plate 12 and the bar 6 even though there should occur a gapbetween the screw 9 or the head 10 of the same and the leg of the bar 6,such g'ap being caused by looseness of the parts with wear or during thetilting of the cap.

Mounted on the top member 5 of the base is a pair of arcuate contactstrips 15 and 10. said members being concentrically mounted with respectto the screw 9 and having their terminals in close proximity. Thecontact strip 15 is electrically connected with the shell 4, as at 17,and the contact strip 15 as at 18. A resistance element 19 is providedbetween contact strip 15 and its point of connection with the shell 4,as at 18 in order that less current will flow throughV .the switch whenthe plate 12 is brought into' contact with the said contact strip 15. Itis Customary in automobile cii'cuits to constitutethe metallic frameworkas the ground, and the drawing therefore illustr'ates only one lead fromthe battery, vthe said lead be' ing indicated by the:V con'ductor' Itwill now be seen thatfwhenlthe-plate-12 i'sf t'ilted or pressed''against' one or the other ofrthe contact strips 15 and 16, the Currentwill flow from the conductor 8 to the plate 12 on the cap by way ofthe'screw 9 and spring 14, and will flow from the plate 12 to the 11, orrather the plate 12 thereof,

Shell 4 by way of one or the other of the contact strips 15 and 16, theShell i constituting a common conductor for both of the contact strips.The current flowing by way ot the contact strip 15 wil'l be less thanthat lowing through the contact strip 16 by reason ot the resistanceelement 19 between the contact strip 19 and the shell t. lt iiollows,therefore, that less current will be supplied to the horn ot' theautoniobile, said horn beinggenerally indicated by i and the battery byBf the other elements the circuit being'indicatcd by referencecharacters corresponding to the elements previously reerred to. Afterthe switch has been asseinbled the shell ft will or may be filled with asuitable insulating material as will be readily understeod.

A modification ot the invention is shown in Fig. 6. rhe arcuate contactmembers 15 and 16 instead of being mounted in the base as shown in Pig.:2 are mounted on the cap 11 as indicated at 15' and 16', the resistanceelement 19 by virtue of this rearrangement of parts being inountedwithin the cap 11 as indicated at 19', one end ot the resistance elementbeing connected'to the metallic collar 13' in the cap and within whichcollar the screw 9 is received.. A suitable conductor 16" is alsoprovided between said collar 3' and the arcuate contact member 16'. rfhemember corresponding` to the plate 12 is in the nature of a ring 12"which is electrically connected as at 12" to the shell 4. In thismodification as well as in the pre-- ferred form, less current. willfiow to the conductor or shell e when contact is made between thecontact strip 15' and the ring 12' by reason of the resistance 19' thanwill iiow to said Shell L1 when contact is made between the arcuatestrip 16' and the said ring' 12'. t l Byplacing he ends of the arcuatecontact strips in close proifimity., as shown in Figi: -l-a there is noliabilitf,T to a blind spot or occurring' when the cap 12 is'tiltedtoward the contact strips. It will also be appai'ent that the switch isso constructed that the cap may be pressed directly downward upon bothot said strips in which event the horn is sounded at its maximumintensity inasmuch as current will flow through the Circuit ot leastresistance; namely, bv waY ot the contact strip 16.

llroni the above it will be seen that- I have deried a simplebuteflective form of switch perinitting the horn to be sounded atdiii'erent degrees of intensity. The working parts are relatively fewand not liable to get out of order. Furtherrnore, continuous electricalconnection is always insured bethrough lirst one contact strip and thenthe other, the construction allowing either contact to be 'iade at willwithouthaving to give the other.

lVhat I claim is:

1; An electric switch comprising a metallie shell adapted to bepositioned in the upper end ot a steering` wheel post, a core ot'non-conduct-ing,` material seated in said'shell, a conductor bareinbedded in said cor lengthwise of said shell and having one endthereet extending along one tace of said core, spaced semi-circularconductor strips on said tace, electrical connections between saidstrips and shell, one of said connections including a resistance, abutton having a metallic condnctor face yielding conducting means incontact with said conductor face tor universally pivoting said buttonabove sti'ips with its conductor :tace noiinally out of contact withsaid strips and means electrically eonnecting said vielding means to asource ot electrical energy.

2. An electric switch coinprising a metallie cylindrical shell having anon-conducting` core7 two arcuate metallic contact strips on said corehaving their ends in close pronimity to each other, and electricalconnection between one of said strips and said shell, a resistanceelement electrically connecting the other strip to said shell, a cappivoted for universal inovement above said contact strips and having ainetallic conductor ol'ate on'the tace thereoif' opposed to saidconducting' spring normally holding with its plate out ot' contact withi said.spring` to a source oit electrical energy.

o. lfn an electric switch, an annular contwo arcuate contacts insulatedfrom eac i 0th a resistance connected to one oi' said arcuate contacts,and Operating means 1 connected with said contact and contacts andhaviiw' a rectilinear and tilting movee the :rnnular co to eng; -aidarcuate contacts siinultaneoucl; or either of them selectivel'v.

ln testimonv whereoi I an'i'x my signature.

VVILLIAM P. BUTT.

